91´«Ã½

CHICAGO — The Games & Gaming Round Table (GameRT) of the 91´«Ã½ is pleased to announce the opening of nominations for the new as part of its celebration of International Gaming Month. These new awards will recognize the best games for use in library collections and library programming.

Through this award, GameRT will highlight and honor the best games for library collections and programming. The Platinum Play Awards — affectionately called The Platys after the platypus mascot on the new award seal — are planned as an annual award and will recognize up to twenty games each year. GameRT will collect nominations from library workers and patrons each year. Once all nominations are in, GameRT members will be able to vote for their top picks, and games that receive at least two votes will move on to the final assessment round, where they will be evaluated by GameRT’s Platinum Play Award Committee. The final award list will be announced each year, starting with a special Platinum Play Classics Hall of Fame in January 2024 that will celebrate classic games like Chess and Go.

In an effort to help libraries find newer games, only games published between two and ten years prior to the awarding year are eligible. Games will be evaluated based on their ability to provide an enjoyable gaming experience in one hour of play. Eligibility for the award is open for games designed for any age range and any number of players. Games that require a system for play will be considered based on the number of platforms available that libraries can access.

GameRT President George Bergstrom said, “The Platinum Play Awards are a culmination of a lot of hard work by GameRT’s Awards Committee. With it, we hope to raise awareness of games that are particularly great in the library setting. I am excited about this new award and look forward to the day that the board game industry celebrates when a great game wins a Platy!”

Nominations for the 2024 Awards — for games published between published between 2013 and 2021 — are open now and can be submitted online until March 31, 2024. Library staff, teachers, and gamers of all types should submit their favorite games using the . Game publishers and creators that seek to have their games considered should email GameRT Staff Liaison Tina Coleman at ccoleman@ala.org.

Find more information about the and the nomination process.

International Gaming Month is a celebration that hopes to connect communities to the educational, recreational and social value of games through experiences in their libraries. It is celebrated every November all over the world. To learn more about International Gaming Month, visit .

About the Games and Gaming Round Table

The (GameRT) of the 91´«Ã½ provides a venue for librarians interested in the use of games and gaming in libraries of all types a place to gather and share. GameRT was formed in 2011, replacing and extending the pre-existing gaming member interest group. As a round table, GameRT is built around our shared passion for games and the use of gaming within libraries. With members from all types of libraries, GameRT encompasses a wide variety of viewpoints, situations, and user types. Look for more information on the.

About 91´«Ã½

Established in 1876, the 91´«Ã½ (91´«Ã½) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization created to provide leadership for the development, promotion, and improvement of library and information services and the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all.

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